


Long Story Short

by ariessmash



Series: Rewrite the Stars [2]
Category: 2012 TMNT, TMNT - Fandom, teenagemutantninjaturtles - Fandom
Genre: Eventual kissing, F/M, Happy Ending, I Don't Even Know, Interspecies Relationship, oblivious to feelings, pining raphael, what are tags, you'd think i'd have this down by now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:41:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28463274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariessmash/pseuds/ariessmash
Summary: Going against his better judgement, which wasn’t saying much at this point, he got up and completely forgot he was wearing pants. He kicked off the pants and left them on Donatello’s face. He waddled in a circle, half expecting Haley to be asleep in the living room, but it was just Donatello. His brother had fallen asleep in the recliner that he used whenever they came over. Not that Raphael blamed him, it was a comfortable ass recliner. He went to the only place he knew Haley to be and found her all curled up in her bed.
Relationships: Raphaelxoc - Relationship
Series: Rewrite the Stars [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2084775
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	Long Story Short

**Author's Note:**

> Words: 3,545
> 
> Trigger warnings: uhh, Haley is dumb, interspecies relationship/kissing. 
> 
> Enjoy~!

Haley was staying in. It was too damn cold outside and the temperature would keep dropping until the sun rose. That meant whatever melted during the day was already frozen and Haley doesn’t do ice. Not anymore, she broke her ankle while ice skating once and she vowed to never do it again. She fell on the ice a few years ago and sprained the same ankle. She was cursed.

She was enjoying the quiet night of no Purple Dragons or the Foot. No stray mutant running amuck in the city. Everything was as still as the snow. She missed the guys, Master Splinter, April, and Casey. She hoped the turtles weren’t dumb enough to go outside. They could die if they weren’t careful. Knowing them, however, they would go against their better instincts and having fun in the powder.

Returning to her book, Haley wormed her way down the couch and brought the book to her face. It still had the new book smell and if it were possible, she could get drunk off the smell. She bought only one book thinking it would take her all winter break to fini Haley was staying in. It was too damn cold outside and the temperature would keep dropping until the sun rose. That meant whatever melted during the day was already frozen and Haley doesn’t do ice. Not anymore, she broke her ankle while ice skating once and she vowed to never do it again. She fell on the ice a few years ago and sprained the same ankle. She was cursed.

She was enjoying the quiet night of no Purple Dragons or the Foot. No stray mutant running amuck in the city. Everything was as still as the snow. She missed the guys, Master Splinter, April, and Casey. She hoped the turtles weren’t dumb enough to go outside. They could die if they weren’t careful. Knowing them, however, they would go against their better instincts and having fun in the powder.

Returning to her book, Haley wormed her way down the couch and brought the book to her face. It still had the new book smell and if it were possible, she could get drunk off the smell. She bought only one book thinking it would take her all winter break to finish it, but she was hooked after one page and hardly put it down. She contemplated on going out to buy another one if she finished it, but she did have fanfics she needed to finish, making those a good back up if she didn’t feel brave enough to face the cold.

She could feel her eyes getting heavier with every word she read. How many hours has she been reading? She had run out of coffee hours ago and didn’t want to make more since it was almost midnight. She could justify sleeping on the couch, right? It was her place and she was so warm under the blanket and her room was so far away.

A heavy thud on the window startled her awake, she sat up just as the window slid upwards and electricity burned at her fingertips. She had left her knives in her room, perfect. Knowing she didn’t have enough time to run to get them and she was still very inexperienced with her magic, she tried to calculate how long it’d take her to get to the knives in the kitchen. But then Raphael slumped through the opening and collapsed on the floor.

He groaned as he struggled to his knees. Haley was off the couch and by his side in seconds, putting his arms around her shoulders and her arm wrapped around his shell. He stood, which thank god, he would have been too heavy for her otherwise. They made it to the couch and sat Raphael down, Haley almost joining because he went down with a fast thunk.

“Raph what happened? Why were you out there? Are you insane?” She rushed her questions.

“Needed a break from the others. Foot bots.” Raphael replied, “the big ones.”

Haley didn’t hear the last words of his story because her attention was drawn to his side that he was clutching onto. She moved his hand away and her stomach immediately dropped. He was bleeding, from what, she couldn’t tell. He had put on a heavy red flannel coat, a black beanie, cargo pants and fingerless gloves. Maybe that’s why she was scared when he plopped through the window, he didn’t look like himself. Instead he looked like a Wet Bandit dressed as a stereotypical lumberjack.

“I’m calling Donnie.” She was already reaching for her phone, but he stopped her by grabbing hold of her wrist. It looked so breakable—delicate—in his giants hands.

“No, not yet.”

“Raph you’re hurt. You need help.” She was almost in tears.

“You’re all the help I need.” He sat back against the couch, clearly exhausted.

She had some first aide training and she had her magic. Oh duh, her magic.

“Alright, alright.” She said more to herself to gather her courage and cement her resolve. “Get your coat off and I’ll try to heal it, but if it doesn’t work, I’m calling Donatello.”

She helped him with his coat and made him lay down so he would be A) comfortable and B) it would be easier to see what she was doing. Her heartbeat sped faster, worry and panic surged through her. The wound was deep and had a narrow diamond shape. Like he had been stabbed or shot with an arrow.

Even though his gaze was unfocused and tired he saw Haley’s skin go ghost white and her blue eyes washed over in fear. Despite the protesting wound Raphael reached out and cupped the side of her face, she looked at him, a stray tearing falling. She was afraid and his weak, reassuring smile just made her feel worse and warm at the same time.

“You got this, princess.” He said.

“Glad you have more faith in me than I do.”

“Just close your eyes and focus. Remember what Master Splinter taught you. Just breathe.”

“And focus.”

How could she forget? She breathed and focus for a month straight. It was annoying, but helpful.

Haley closed her eyes, took a few deeps breaths, and shut the noise out. She sat on her knees on Raphael’s side, focusing, hands hovering over his bleeding wound and then…nothing. Her fingertips didn’t warm, there was no electricity or shiny orb that followed. She just looked fucking stupid sitting there with her friend dying on her couch.

Haley pulled her hands away and glared at them like they just betrayed her. “What the fuck?”

“What’s wrong?” Raphael croaked.

“My magic isn’t working. It’s not working and your dying.” Haley screamed.

“I’m not dying, I am bleeding though. We should stop that.”

“YOU THINK?” This wasn’t the time to be sarcastic, but Raphael being stupidly calm was infuriating.

Then she realized he was right. He _was still_ bleeding and it wasn’t going to stop any time soon. Nothing in her first aide kit was prepared for something like this. If he had come to her with a scrapped knee, she could slap a band-aide over it and buy him an ice scream. But this had the potential of being a mortal wound.

She sprinted to her bathroom closet, grabbed a handful of towels, and grabbed a bottle of the nearest alcohol from her uncle’s stash. She’d have to fill it up with water before he returned home and then pray he didn’t drink from it any time soon. She returned to Raphael’s side to find him dozed off, she shook him awake.

“Drink this.” Haley said, putting the bottle, uncapped, in his hand.

He looked at her like she had grown three heads, “why?”

“It’ll help, but not all of it. I’ll need it too.”

To drink.

He shrugged, took a hesitant sip, gagged, but then took another. Haley was right, it did help. But that wonderful warm feeling in his stomach went away as soon as she poured the liquid on his wound.

“Ow! Haley, what the fuck?” He screamed and pushed Haley away.

“I’m disinfecting it! Now hold still!” She ordered.

“Jesus fucking Christ, that hurt worse than the actual hit.” He bit down on his teeth.

Haley placed a warm washcloth over the hole and gently dabbed around the area. She wouldn’t be able to stop the bleeding like this. Grabbing a few towels, still folded neatly, she pressed them against Raphael’s wound and grabbed her phone with her free hand.

“What are you doing?” Raphael asked, his cracked eyes watching her every move.

“Calling Donnie.”

“Haley, no.” He reached for the phone, but she pulled away. “He won’t be able to come, the roads are awful.”

“I don’t care. You’re bleeding too much and Donnie will—Donnie! Good! Shut up and listen.”

//Okay rude.//

“Raph is hurt, he’s been stabbed and he’s bleeding a lot. I have towels on it now, but I don’t know what else to do. Oh and my magic isn’t working.”

//Wow, okay, that’s a lot to process. Dammit Raph…did you sterilize the wound?//

“Yes, with vodka and then gave some to Raph so he’d calm down.”

“I’ve been calm.” Raphael muttered.

She glared at him.

//That first part was a good idea, but don’t give him anymore alcohol. It can thin his blood. Listen, I can be there in thirty minutes, but that depends on how the roads are. Keep him awake.//

“Okay, I can do that. I can do that.” She said, repeating the last part as a whispered mantra.

// Oh and if the bleeding seeps through those towels, just keep putting more on them. Don’t replace them. You’ll disrupt the platelets if you do that.//

“Please hurry Donnie.” Haley sniffled, her heart was in her throat and her bottom lip became quivering.

Raphael ran a finger along her jaw line and she looked up at him teary eyed and worried. He looked content, enamored, and delirious with bliss.

“Please hurry.”

//I will. Stay strong Haley.//

Thirty minutes felt like an eternity when you’re trying to keep your friend’s blood inside him. She stopped adding towels ten minutes into the wait, so that was a good sign, right? She beamed up at him, delighted Donatello’s advice was working, but he his eyes were fluttering shut. She pinched his cheek.

“Ow.”

“Sorry, but you need to stay awake.” She added another towel just in case.

“Do I really? I’m tired.” Raphael

“Yes, you do.” Donatello said, appearing through the window. His medic bag hung from his shoulder and he was also dressed warmly. “How is he?”

“The bleeding stopped, but he’s starting to fall asleep.” Haley reported.

Donatello put his hand on Raphael’s forehead, “he’s running a low fever.”

“I’m sorry.” She should have caught his fever before now, but it was hard to tell if he had a fever when his green skin didn’t turn red like anyone else she knew. 

“It’s not your fault Haley.” Donatello placed a hand on her shoulder. “Ready to help me fix this moron?”

“I’m right here.” Raphael said.

“We know and you’re a moron.” Donatello said.

“If you can get him stable, I can try healing him again.” Haley suggested.

“Heal him tomorrow. For now, let him live with his mistake.” Donatello kneeled next to his brother and nudged Haley’s hand out of the way. “Can you get him medicine for his fever out of my bag? And my flashlight?”

She gathered what Donatello needed and then hovered over Raphael, watching the brainiac work from the back of the couch. He was silent as he patched the wound and sympathetically petted Raphael’s head whenever he winced. She dabbed at his face with a cool cloth and kept him awake by telling him the random facts she learned.

“How is he?” Haley asked.

“He’ll make it, through sheer stubbornness, but he’ll make it. The wound wasn’t as deep as I thought.” Donatello replied, he sat back on his ankles and pulled his gloves off. “It’s best not to move him right now.”

“I wasn’t going to.” Haley left for a few seconds and returned with a plush blanket. “Will he be warm enough?”

“He should be, he lost blood, but not enough to kill him. He’d be in worse shape if he hadn’t found you.” Donatello stood, picked up his bag in the process and then dropped it by the window.

Haley stared at Raphael, sound asleep, happy to see him at peace. She felt restless, however. She hated how useless she was tonight. If her magic were stronger she wouldn’t have panicked and called Donatello. With life getting in the way she wasn’t able to put the maximum effort into her training with Master Splinter. There was only so much the rat master could teach her anyway. Without a grimoire or her mother to help, she was lost in the dark.

“You look worn out Haley, go to bed. I can look after Raph.” Donatello said.

She was tired, not physically anyway. Mentally? Emotionally? She was drained, but she couldn’t leave him, he looked pitiful and open to being attacked by a sharpie marker, possibly by her own hand. 

“Your magic is driven be emotions, correct?” Donatello asked, finally having the free space in his brain to hold this conversation.

“That’s what we decided when I took Hun out.”

Ew Hun. She hasn’t thought about that douchebag in months.

“Maybe seeing Raphael hurt distressed your powers.” Donatello hypothesized, watching her out of the corner of his eye. Hopefully, he could get her to acknowledge the feelings she had for his brother. Because everyone else saw it, except maybe, these two idiots.

“What are you talking about?” She rubbed her face with her palms. Her eyes were so heavy, she could feel the gravity of tiredness pulling her further down.

Donatello stared at her dumbfounded. “Haley, your extreme reaction to seeing Raphael isn’t any indicator to you?”

Haley thought for a moment and then shook her head a little, “no.”

Donatello slapped his own face, his fingers slid down over his eyes. “Raphael likes you. You like Raphael.”

“Of course Raph likes me, we’re friends.”

“Oh, my god. Do I have to explain this to you like we’re in a children’s cartoon?”

She looked side to side and then at Donatello, “yes.”

“No, you know what, no. I don’t have the time or the energy to explain this you right now. Please just go to bed and everything will be better in the morning.” Donatello said, turning Haley around and pointed to her room.

Defeated, Haley grabbed her book, glanced back at Raphael one more time before turning towards her room She had a feeling Donatello would be pulling an all-nighter to watch after his brother.

“Help yourself to anything in the fridge and don’t blow anything up or mutate anything.” Haley said disappearing down the short hall.

“Reasonable enough.”

As soon as her head hit the pillow she was out, her book on the nightstand long forgotten. She could faintly hear Donatello typing maddingly away on his laptop, but soon that faded to the pitter patter of rain. It rained in her dream, it came down in sheets and it was ice cold. She shivered and whimpered, looking for warmth. When she gave up searching for shelter she laid in the giant puddle and let the rain erode her away.

Raphael woke up when the sunlight hit his eyes. He was sore, worse than sore. He didn’t want to move, but he was just so uncomfortable. It took a moment, but last night came flooding back to him. He got in a fight with the Foot’s new ninja robots. They were huge, but agile and were dressed to the nines with weaponry. He got careless, overconfident. There were only three, but it felt like he was up against ten. He was able to get away thanks to classic misdirection and a moving truck that happened by. He rode the back of the truck all the way to Haley’s apartment where, luckily, she was home.

He almost didn’t want to go in because she looked comfortable and cute underneath her blanket. Without a care in the world. He didn’t want to ruin her night, but he was freezing and was probably dying. And if he was going to die, then he might as well do it in the arms of the woman he cared for most. Haley throughout the whole situation, he felt so bad for her, she looked like she wanted to cry the whole time. Her powers crapping out was a tough deal, but it wasn’t her fault. He watched her the whole time she was applying pressure to his wound, traced every gently curve of her face with his eyes and back logged the tiny scars he never noticed before.

Going against his better judgement, which wasn’t saying much at this point, he got up and completely forgot he was wearing pants. He kicked off the pants and left them on Donatello’s face. He waddled in a circle, half expecting Haley to be asleep in the living room, but it was just Donatello. His brother had fallen asleep in the recliner that he used whenever they came over. Not that Raphael blamed him, it was a comfortable ass recliner. He went to the only place he knew Haley to be and found her all curled up in her bed.

Raphael was closing the door when he heard her whimper, venturing further into her room he could hear her teeth chattering. He placed a hand on her shoulder and felt a shiver run down her body. Why was she cold? It had to at least be eighty degrees in the apartment. He didn’t want to abandon her there, not when she looked like she needed a hug. So very carefully, because the last thing he wanted was for her to wake up attack him (he might actually die then), he lifted up the blankets and maneuvered himself next to her.

When she stirred Raphael felt his heartbeat quicken. What if she wakes up and literally kicks him out of bed? What if she calls him a creep? But she doesn’t. Instead, she rolls over to face him and her face is close to his. He held his breath, feeling like he could just scream. A sleeping Haley is even more adorable than an awake Haley. She’s less likely to kill him, he hopes, in her sleep. Again. He hopes. Right now, however, he would die a happy turtle. The way the cheek laid squished against the pillow was enough to send him to his maker. He never realized how long her lashes were until they were against her pale skin. Long strands of hair snaked over her face, he gently push them away—barely grazing her skin, but she still flinched.

Her eyes twitch and then crack open. “ Raph? What are you doing? Where’s Donnie? Are you okay?”

“Yea, yea, I’m fine. Just got cold and Donnie didn’t want to cuddle.” Raphael joked.

“He doesn’t look like a cuddler.” Haley yawned and pulled the blankets up so they would cover Raphael more, but she disappeared underneath them.

Raphael chuckled, “will you be able to breathe under there?”

“Yes and I’m cold.” Her voice was muffled, but he could still hear her clearly.

“How can you be colder than a turtle?” He asked disappearing underneath the blankets as well.

“I just am. Now shush, there’s no school today and I am going to take complete advantage by sleeping forever.” Her hand found the wound and barely touched it. “Does it hurt?”

“A little bit, but I can manage.” He wasn’t lying, it did hurt. What hurt more was how he got it, such a stupid mistake he made last night. It was an embarrassment wound. 

“How about now?”

He was going to ask what she was talking about, but then he felt a warm sensation pool on his skin. It wasn’t McDonald’s coffee hot, it was like a hug. A protective hug. It felt weird, feeling his injury slowly heal. It itched more than he thought it would and then the phenomenon went away, as did the pain. Haley left her hand on the nonexistent injury.

“It feels pretty good actually, thank you.”

“I should have been able to do that in the first place.” She pouted. “Donnie has an idea of why I wasn’t able to, but…”

Raphael cupped her cheek, his thumb soothing the are below her eye. She caught the thoughtfulness gaze in his eyes, the certainty set in his lips.

“I think I know why too.” Raphael murmured.

Haley’s heart felt like it was going to pop out of her chest. The butterflies in her stomach were so erratic she felt like she was going to throw up. There was no way he couldn’t feel her face grow hot under his touch, she could just die of embarrassment right now. When he moved closer, tilting his head down until their lips were millimeters apart. He gave her a chance to back away, but she couldn’t. She slid her hands flat against his plastron and nuzzled her nose against his. Closing the gap between them and pressed a hesitant kiss against his lips. 

Raphael wrapped his arms around her, holding her close and deepening the kiss. She was forgetting how to breathe, her lungs burning. Haley pulled away, gasping for air, dizzy. Raphael didn’t want to stop, he wanted to continue, to keep kissing her and kissing her until they were blue in the face.

“Raph, wait, I can’t fucking breathe.” Haley said, popping her head out of the blanket. “Oh.”

“Oh? What’s oh?” Raphael asked, joining Haley on the surface. He glanced over his shoulder and found Donatello leaning against the doorframe. Arms crossed over his chest and wearing a shit eating grin. “Oh.”

“I was just checking on Haley, but I can see you’ve beaten me to.” Donatello said, turning his shell towards them, “I didn’t see a thing.”

“Oh, my god.” Haley buried her face in the nook of Raphael’s shoulder.

“Yea, that was kind of embarrassing.” Raphael agreed.

“Can we just go back to sleep?” Haley asked weakly.

“I second that.” 


End file.
